Just Saying...

 At nine o'clock tonight Bert and I watched Happy Valley. The truth is I'm all Harried out.

It's just past ten now, I have switched on my electric blanket and very soon I will be going to bed with Elizabeth Jane Howard.

Tomorrow I should  receive a phone call from Noora at British Telecom. She is a good person but I do not expect anything to come from the call. I will not tell Noora that Bert has threatened to take a shotgun to the telecoms box up the road and blast it full of lead because, and I quote him,

Then everybody's internet will be fucked and they'll have to send an engineer.

He definitely won't be doing that. It's just crazy talk.

Where's My Engineer?

Two weeks and two days now since I first reported our broadband down. Three appointments with BT Openreach engineers since the broadband went down. The first was a charming chap who turned up bang on time on the Thursday before Christmas. He said it was too foggy to go 'on the road' to fix the fault and advised me to upgrade to Fibre2 and then, probably, they'd sort it between Christmas and the New Year. I thought I had already upgraded but it turns out not as my 'box wasn't big enough' and no one informed me of this as they had sent the sad news to an email address that wasn't mine. I do remember saying to Bert that I saw little improvement with the new package. Little wonder, as we hadn't received it.

I lost count of the number of call-centre staff I've spoken to since but it must be in the high teens. The most obnoxious was English Chris and the nicest Scottish Joan. The most entertaining was Mr Cussalot who was working from home (I could hear his children shrieking in the background). If Cussalot said 'Jesus Christ' once he said it half a dozen times. I have a suspicion he wasn't a Christian. I didn't mind for neither am I but he'd be in trouble if it had been Jeffrey or Arlene phoning him.

The second and third engineers? No clue - they didn't turn up. The latest no-show being today.

We have two mini hubs, one for Hannah, and one for us. I had book 4 of the Cazalet Chronicles delivered today, we are both feeling a lot better although still testing positive and I've got to hit publish on this soon as Bert is waiting impatiently for Happy Valley, Series 3, Episode 1. I sat him down in front of Series 1 on Tuesday and we have ripped through 1 and 2 in three days. He's hooked. I've seen them all before but it was quite a while ago.  

Not An Openreach Engineer. If Only... 

Christmas Without the Internet

This Christmas, apart from the usual things, I have spoken to at least fifteen different BT Call Centre Operatives. I have had one (useless) visit and then a broken appointment with an Openreach Engineer. Today I received a temporary hub and that will be that, until the next appointment with an engineer in five days' time.

Martha and Bert sorted the Christmas tree. We had a clump of Korean pines that had got too close together so Bert cut one down and used the top as our tree. Martha did the decos.

Off-Duty Blogging

Moving house is one of the most physically exhausting and mentally tiring situations in the world. But then you knew that didn't you? My specialist subject is The Bleeding Obvious.

I love my new house but it made me sick and I'm only just recovering from that. That and the perfidy of British Telecom is my excuse for recent patchy blogging. Although I can't blame BT for not sending my London sis a birthday card.

After tomorrow I've got four days off and I plan to get back to some regular posting. This may well include a brief account of the Drinking Competition between the Mosers and the Wee Mannys.

It may also include an illustrated account of the Siege of Mrs Diana Wee-Manny's chopped off toe. I am going to warn youse in advance that I have obtained some graphic, nay, gross photographs of her toe/toelessness and if anybody would be repulsed/ thrilled to see these please let me know.